


Annus Unus

by CodaAtTheEnd



Series: In Memoriam: Unus Annus [3]
Category: Unus Annus - Fandom, Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Memento mori, Memorials, Reflection, Unus Annus, in memoriam, legacy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-15
Updated: 2020-11-15
Packaged: 2021-03-09 06:06:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,370
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27410059
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CodaAtTheEnd/pseuds/CodaAtTheEnd
Summary: This day marks Year One, Day One of the Unus Annus Memoriam calendar.
Relationships: Mark Fischbach & Ethan Nestor
Series: In Memoriam: Unus Annus [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2009584
Comments: 2
Kudos: 28





	Annus Unus

**Author's Note:**

> This will never do Unus Annus justice, but it's dead, so it can't criticize my awful writing.  
> If you don't know what Unus Annus is, I'm so sorry. It's already gone.

Unus Annus was a self-destructing vlog channel with a lifespan of one year, born on November 15th, 2020. It died as the clock that had haunted it for its entire existence finally struck zero. I miss it already. It was a light in the dark times, a beacon of hope in the most tumultuous era we have ever lived in our brief mortal lives. Two idiots did silly, somber, stupid, strange things for their audience of millions of people, for the year they had given themselves, for the clock they had set, but mostly for themselves. They made the most of the life they lived, the time they were given, the existence they had for a brief moment in time. 

In the end, in their last final days before their inevitable demise, they made peace with the end. They said farewell to all they had touched in their brief life. They remembered the year they had lived. They thought upon the year they could have had. They mourned, they laughed, they cried. Tears of joy, tears of pain, tears of sorrow, tears of acceptance. It does not matter how you die, nor when you die, but considering all possible ends they could have had, they died well. They left nothing unfinished, and they got to say goodbye. Not everyone gets to say goodbye. Their final days were days of joy, days of laughter, days of happiness. And now they are gone.

Memento mori. Literally, remember death. But it's more than that. Remember you will die. Remember death comes for us all. Remember this time you have isn't forever. It's a hard truth to swallow, but we are all better for accepting it. It's freeing, in a way, to know that one day, everything you do will be forgotten. There are no mistakes, not when it will all be forgotten. The universe will die, and you and all that you have accomplished in your finite lifespan will be naught but dust, your marks upon history erased by the sands of time.

One day, Unus Annus will be forgotten. One day, the last remnants of its legacy will be ashes and stardust. One day, Unus Annus will die a final death. It is our sacred task to ensure that day will never come. Though this mission is impossible, our efforts will spread the word of Unus Annus, marking those not fortunate enough to find it before the end. Unus Annus carved itself a place in the annals of history, and its death leaves a gaping wound. Though we cannot possibly fill the void, it is our duty and our honor to ensure that its imprint upon this cruel earth never fades, that the hole it leaves will never be filled, not even by a tactical shovel wielded by an entity of pure rage. 

When Unus Annus is forgotten, because of course it will be forgotten, the world will be worse for it. When its teachings fade from the minds of all humanity, we will have lost something unspeakably precious. We were given the greatest of gifts: The chance to be a part of Unus Annus, to follow along its journey as it marched onwards to its death. We saw it, we knew it, we lived it. No one else will get the chance. Remember them, because no one else possibly can. Spread their word, because we are the only ones who know it. Teach their lessons, because everyone deserves to know what they taught us. 

Unus Annus was created so that we might know the ever-present ticking of the clock. Unus Annus gave itself a time limit so that we might know the constant presence of death. Unus Annus died so that we might know that time is always running out. Unus Annus died so that we might know how to live life like it ends. They gave themselves a year. It was not the year they predicted or wanted or hoped for, but it was the one they received. There is no point in lamenting the ways things might have been. Such is life. An unpredictable, unwieldy thing that never behaves how one might expect. We think to tame it, but in actuality, it pulls us along its current towards its inescapable end. 

They got a year. We get a lifetime. That may seem like enough time to satisfy even the most gluttonous of souls, but time always seems to move faster when it's running out. And it's always running out. Though you may not hear the clock, it is always there, always ticking, always counting off the seconds until your inevitable demise. We may discover the secrets to eternal youth, to eternal brilliance, to eternal memory, but we will never discover the secrets to eternal life. There is no outrunning the death of the universe. Rage all you like, but this is the truth. Accept it, deny it, but it lingers all the same.

There are no second chances. This is it. This is your one life. Live it in the best way you possibly can. Live life to the fullest, make the most of every second, be happy for everything you have managed to experience in this life, for the only life you'll ever get. A life to live, a life to learn, a life to love. Pass on what they taught us. Live life in the best of all possible ways. Leave your mark upon the world, because once you're gone, there is no coming back. This is your one chance, your one opportunity to impact the world. Make the most of every moment. Live your life to the best of your ability. You will not get another one.

Do not go gentle into that good night. Rage, rage against the dying of the light. Do not succumb to willful ignorance or overwhelming despair. This is your life. You will die, but before that you will live. Live for all the things you haven't done. Live for the person you have yet to become. Live for yourself, but if you can't do that, live for them. Live for Unus Annus, that died so that you could live with death's spectre hanging over you. Live your life, love your life, and eventually you will look at yourself in the mirror and like the person you've become. Live in spite of death, because of death. Death is always on the horizon, but it should not stop you from living.

On this day, Year One of the Unus Annus Memoriam calendar begins. Celebrate their life, for today is the birthday they never got to have. Write a letter to the dead, draw some artwork of scenes now deleted, sculpt a moment you want to remember. Make a cult, if you wish, in which Unus and Annus are two primordial entities that give a single year to those who ask for it, Mark and Ethan are their saints, and the day of beginning and the day of ending are sacred days, meant for remembrance, for sorrow, for joy. Don't cry because it's over. Cry because it happened. Who's cutting onions? Stop cutting onions. No more tears. They are gone, but we are still here, and we carry their legacy with us every step of the way.

Remember them with smiles, with joy. They lived. They died. So does everyone. Even if we find a way to cure aging, to decrease accidents, to extend the human lifespan beyond our wildest imaginings, we will never beat back death. Maybe you'll live for a thousand years, a million years, a billion years. Maybe we'll cure entropy, stop the universe from freezing to death. But the universe is ruled by randomness, and at any moment, something infinitesimally unlikely could occur and let death claim us all. Death is not good, death is not bad. It simply is. An inevitability, a shadow lingering on the horizon, a constant reminder that this life, our only life, is not forever. Each second we waste is one we'll never get back. Remember what they gave us. Remember what they died for. Honor them, because no one else can.

Remember death. Remember life. Remember you must live.

Memento Vivere.

Annus Unus.

**Author's Note:**

> I know that Latin doesn't work like that and Annus Unus still means one year, but shut up and let me have this.


End file.
